Critical Chinese writer released on conditional terms

New York, August 11, 2011--Authorities should cease the residential surveillance of writer Ran Yunfei and allow him to communicate freely following his release from jail this week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ran has been forbidden from speaking publicly, according to The Associated Press.

Ran, a
western Sichuan-based commentator and literary magazine editor detained
during a round-up of government critics in February, is the latest online
writer to be released from jail to home surveillance. Although reports said he
had been indicted
for inciting subversion against the state for his wide-ranging social and
political articles, his release suggests the charges have been dropped.
However, security agents are restricting his movements and he has been ordered
not to continue his outspoken online commentaries, conditions that leave him
vulnerable to re-arrest for noncompliance, international news reports
said.

"Ran Yunfei has committed no crime and should be allowed
complete freedom," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "Keeping writers and
journalists under house arrest is simply an attempt to bully them into keeping
quiet."

Internet writer Yang
Hengjun and artist and documentary filmmaker Ai
Weiwei were also released this year on the condition that they not discuss
the details of their detentions, which resembled state-sponsored kidnappings
and did not follow Chinese legal procedure, CPJ research showed. After his
release, Yang spoke
euphemistically about his disappearance in terms that supporters said
indicated a secret detention. Police neglected to inform Ai's family of his
detention or file criminal charges within the periods required by law.

Yang, Ai, and Ran are among dozens of high-profile writers,
activists, and lawyers who were detained, harassed, or threatened in response
to unsigned demands for a Chinese Arab Spring posted online in February. The
whereabouts of other detainees, including Ai's freelance journalist associate Wen
Tao, remain unknown.

Invasive surveillance of dissidents in their homes, sometimes
combined with physical intimidation by security agents, restricts residents
from communication with the outside world, CPJ research showed. Many
victims and journalists have documented the experience, including lawyer and
civil rights activist Chen
Guangcheng and Zeng
Jinyan, wife of the formerly imprisoned journalist Hu Jia. House arrest, sometimes
called "soft
detention," is an extrajudicial punishment that can be imposed in China even if
an individual, like Ai, was never formally arrested, according to international
news reports.

Some commentators ignore post-incarceration restraints and
continue to speak out. Ai, who lives in Beijing,
recently used his personal Twitter account to encourage his
followers to call for the release of Ran and imprisoned activist Wang
Lihong.